Bloodlines
by Tommo1
Summary: And so the clock swings forward to a time when the Ninja system is no more and Ninja are all but extinct. However, deep in history lays the key to powers long lost. Powers which will once again shape the nature of the five nations.


_A/N: Hi guys and thanks for checking this out. There are just a few things I want to say before you start reading this just to give you an idea what you are in for. Bloodlines is set in the future after the manga is finished and is itself a product of how I believe the manga is going to finish. I won't say any more on this topic as I feel it will spoil this story. Most fan fictions I read always end up happy with super overpowered characters and I wanted to write this to be something a lot more believable in terms of both setting and characterisation.(As believable as Naruto Ninjas in a modern day city can be anyway)_

_Lastly I have a few sources of inspiration I want to share before I finish up this note. The final fantasy versus thirteen trailer is a huge inspiration for me in terms of how I feel fights could work out in this story and the other source is a series of machinima on called "In for a Penny" which really helped me set the scene in my head of how I wanted to city to be._

_Anyway without further Ado please enjoy the first chapter. _

_**Bloodlines: Chapter 1 – City Life**_

The sky was dark, rain clattered down from the skies amongst the rooftops of the skyscrapers before washing down below. In fact the whole city was incredibly dark thought one man stepping outside from the building as he reached down into his trench coat to pull out a cigarette. He brought the cigarette to his lips, the sound of rain hitting the top of his hat and following on the ground around him making him shiver slightly in the breeze. He brought a lighter up to the end of his cigarette and flicked it open once, twice, three times, trying to get a light before he heard a click as he recognised a presence next to him. "Don't worry, we'll get him Shikaka." the man said offering a light.

Shikaka moved his mouth with the cigarette still in over to the light and felt the warmth of the cigarette being lit. He inhaled as he felt the smoke first enter his mouth and then travel down his throat into his lungs and back up. "I know." He replied in a gloomy manner after exhaling. "Let's go."

And so the two of them walked through the city. The sound of car sirens going off everywhere as the police were buzzing from place to place. It was a Thursday night, a very wet Thursday night. Shikaka wondered what it was like, to be able to live a life without caring too much about what goes on in this dark city. The normal people don't care, they disassociate themselves from anything that happens. It would never happen to them, and then it does, and someone dies, and he has to go along and see what happened, only then do they realise how dark and violent this modern day city is.

As they walked inside the pub there was a bar to the right and a stage to the left that was preparing for an act to come on. Shikaka removed his hat and carried it at his side to reveal his hair tied up behind him. "Where do you want to sit today Alan?" He asked as Alan removed his hat. He already knew were his partner was going to sit though, the same place they sat every week, closest to the bar. The two of them sat at stools in front of the bar and Alan ordered drinks but he wasn't really paying attention. He swivelled on his stool and turned to face the stage. Looks like they were almost ready. Alan then handed him a shot and he had a quick smell of it, definitely smelled of alcohol, he thought to himself, although he couldn't name what it was exactly he brought it up to his lips and had a sip before downing the rest of it.

"She'll be coming on soon." Alan said matter of factly.

"Yeah" was all Shikaka said to reply. Then he heard a screech of feedback come through the speakers followed by people groaning, he was all too used to it though and he just waited for the announcer to get out the way.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to thank you for coming to our fine establishment tonight." Nothing fine about it, Shikaka thought to himself, It's the same dark pub as everywhere else in this rotten city. "Tonight we have a very special performer, one of the most well known upcoming singers in all of the five nations. I'd like you all to give a very special welcome to Konoha's own, Yammancha Ina." And then there were cheers, before she had even walked onto the stage. A man in a suit walked out first, no one really knew his name although he was a very talented pianist, and he started playing the introduction for the first song. And then a girl walked out, she had long blonde hair and a black dress that hugged her in all the right places and she started singing the first words to the song.

_(Insert Song – Mother Revolution, Tori Amos)_

Alan ordered another couple of shots and went to give a glass to his younger partner. But as he turned to face his partner he appeared to be in some kind of trance. In fact it was more than that, he was concentrating on exactly what was going on, although for once his eyes were still and not flickering like they normally do, in fact he seemed at peace for once. It must be hard on the guy, Alan thought, a new detective, praised as being the top of his class, the best crime solver of his generation, and he was only 20. Some of the things he had seen must of stained his mind already and they had seen some ugly things recently. Walking into rooms with slash marks all over the bodies and blood all around the room on top of rumours of some guy going around in a red cloak jumping across skyscrapers at night, yeah, like that was real, although he had been around the block himself a few times and knew not to rule out any kind of possibility. The song finished and any look of content was gone from Shikaka's face as Alan handed him another drink which he downed. "Well, I'm off, take care" Alan said as he stood up and put his hat back onto his short brown hair, done up his coat and walked out.

Shikaka ordered himself another drink which he downed again as he sat and watched. She was incredible, he thought to himself, he watched every note, every way she gently swung her hips, he could read her body language, it was as if she could read everyone's mind all at once. Giving them exactly what they wanted to see but he could see more than that, her movements seemed sad. And he could never figure out why.

Five songs and five shots later Ina had finished, and a lot of drunk men were stumbling out onto the streets, no doubt to be sick on the streets from drinking too much or to get into some fight. Shikaka however had not moved from his seat and stayed sitting inside the bar for another 15 minutes drinking shots until he was the only person left sitting inside. Then he felt a presence sit down next to him at the bar. "So how was I tonight?" She asked.

Shikaka turned around to see Ina sitting next to him with a jacket on obviously ready to be heading home. "You were good." Shikaka replied.

"You always say that Shika," Ina complained before mimicking him in a dark and gloomy voice. "You were good, you have said that ever since we were kids."

"Yeah I thought you were good back then as well."

Ina then turned to see the amount of shot glasses that were in front of her childhood friend. She knew about his job and knew he must be having a tough time. She also knew that he always ended up blaming himself when something went wrong and it hurt her to see him drinking himself into his own bottle in an attempt to forget about the world. "Come on then, walk me home?" She didn't even need to ask really.

"Yeah" Shikaka answered before standing up and pulling his jacket on and pulling his hat over on top of his head.

The pair headed out from the bar and Shikaka looked both left and right before settling himself on the route that he always took to walk Ina home. The rain was still coming down and could be heard constantly hitting the ground in front of them, only to be interrupted by the sound of their own shoes coming down onto the pavement. They walked silently for most of the journey through the now sleeping city until they got to the outside of Ina's apartment. There Ina stood in the door way, now sheltered from the rain by a small ledge above the door. There Ina removed Shikaka's hat and kept it down by her side in her left hand. "I'm worried about you." she stated to Shikaka.

Shikaka looked up and could see the sadness in her face. That in turn made him sad and look down at his feet for a moment. This whole city is filled with sadness, he thought to himself. "I can't lose this one Ina," he said still looking down until he felt a small hand cup his cheek and pull his face up. It felt so gentle and soft and he allowed himself to lean in and relax for half a second before opening his eyes.

"I don't want to see you lose yourself though Shika." She said with more concern before removing her hand and placing his hat back onto his head. "Goodnight" She said before closing the door and heading up to her room.

Shikaka took a couple of steps backwards and stared at the door for a moment before adjusting his hat and walking through the streets back to his apartment, his mind for once blank and his body being kept warm by the amount of alcohol that was currently inside of him. Once inside of his own apartment he took his jacket off and hung it up on a wooden stand near his door and continued to place his hat on top of that. He then walked into the next room which contained his bed and stood there in front of a full length mirror for a moment. There he loosened his tie and undone the top button of his shirt before proceeding to lie down on his bed staring up at the ceiling as he let the darkness fill his eyes for the night.

In what seemed like no time at all however his phone was beeping. He reached down into his pocket and pulled it out before answering it. "Hello?"

"Shikaka, It's Alan, we got another one."

"On my way." He replied as he stood up, only now noticing the light that had made its way into his room. He stood in front of the mirror again and done up his shirt button again and straightened his tie before putting on his jacket and his hat. He then walked out of the door, slamming it slightly behind him. And here begins another misery filled day here in the city of Konoha he said to himself before proceeding to put one foot in front of the other to work.

_Well guys hope you liked the chapter and the idea I've got going on. Hopefully you can tell by now that this isn't going to be a fun filled story. This chapter was mainly to set the scene, next chapter will explain a lot more about modern day Konoha including the politics and some history of the city as well as introducing a few new characters._

_Thanks for Reading_

Tommo


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